


End Game

by BunnyJess



Series: Reputation [2]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Blood, Blue Team, F/M, Family first, Gun Violence, Nurse Ayla, ODST are a bunch of pricks, Original Character(s), Violence, Wargames gone wrong, but thats minor, don't mess with nurses, lots of blood, medical speak, nothing holds them back, or in this case the med bay], thank god for Spartan biology, they run the wards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 20:50:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14433813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyJess/pseuds/BunnyJess
Summary: Blue Team end up in a massive event and aren't sure their Bunny will make it.





	End Game

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like this.   
> I couldn't resist adding in an OC in the shape of Nurse Ayla; named after a nurse friend of mine <3

John could feel the weight on his shoulders starting to pull him down. His reputation with both the UNSC and their enemies was huge, to the point it fuelled rumours and he often ended up neck deep in shit. John was currently in one of those situations. The helljumpers had chips on their shoulders towards John and his fireteam, and they were letting it interfere with the current battle. Despite the years that had passed, all the times they’d worked together, and how many of them he’d saved, they still held onto the actions of his 15 year old self. They were taking things too far and putting his team in danger. They’d put Kelly in danger.

John and Fred managed to drag Kelly into an abandoned house, while Linda kept watch from her perch. Sam was busy setting up explosives around the entrance to busy himself while John tried to get Kelly comfortable. It was all too reminiscent of New Mombasa, of Harvest, of Reach. They carefully got her situated and set to work assessing all her wounds.

“Kel this better not be the end game. You got to hold on.” John’s usually level voice in the field wavered as he cupped her helmet. Her faceplate was depolarized and he could see her usually sky blue eyes had turned to a murky dusk. Kelly reached up, gasping as she did so, to draw a ‘Spartan smile’ across his faceplate. She let it drop to his armour, resting over his heart, too heavy and weak to move it more.

“On my s…soul,” she stuttered out, gasping in air. Her skin was pale and Fred’s HUD was showing a weakening pulse rate and rising blood pressure. Her blood loss was getting worse and worse, they didn’t have much time to act. She may have been struggling to breathe, the rate too fast to be effective, but in that moment it was John who felt like he couldn’t get in air. “This is all my fault. It’s all my fault, they knew I’ll always protect you so found a way around it.” He glanced over to Fred and the two shared a strained, worried look. The wounds to her thigh and abdomen were severe with Fred trying desperately to treat them both with Sam’s help. They both knew that John wouldn’t be able to move from his spot near her head; but if it kept her awake they’d happily work as a pair. Kelly gave a small shake of her head, she knew how the ODST’s could play dirty and had accepted the risks. John moved to taking off their gauntlets, wanting to get a feel of her pulse. He desperately tried to ignore how limp her arms were, how cold and clammy her skin was. Her pulse was barely there, thready and slowing down. She’d clearly lost at least a litre of blood, the situation was getting dire and they had to pray Palmer would get to them in time. He just wanted to curse out everyone who’d built up the reputation of the Spartans, especially the Master Chief. It was his reputation that had gotten them into this mess.

Stepping away Fred managed to key in the sequence on the hidden key pad situated on a wall of the house. Palmers voice quickly rang out through the air; “Warzone simulation terminated. ODST have violated the rules and the 11 of you will face disciplinary action. Master Chief get her to med bay now!” The simulation dissolved around them leaving the 16 people and one table in the holo deck. Sam had to bite back a growl as he saw the 11 ODST members but knew his sister was more important. Creating a protective barrier from the watchful gaze of the 11 Sam, Fred and Linda moved into position and helped move Kelly into John’s arms. The table was covered in blood causing Linda to waver slightly knowing how drastic her sister’s situation was.

John began racing through the corridors and in that moment Sam knew that John was nearly matching Kelly for speed. He wasn’t going to lose the better half of himself. John’s deep voice kept talking to her; kept her gaze firmly on him, trying to keep her conscious knowing it would be a struggle to bring her back if she slipped under.

“We’ve always been together haven’t we, you and me since we were six.” He ignored the fact her blood pressure was now beginning to fall and pushed himself harder. “You’re beautiful in every way. The way you love so easily helps me with my paranoia and insecurities. I’d be nothing without you.” He burst through the doors and into an expanse of white walls and surgically cold equipment. The medical team were waiting; blood bags prepped on a rapid infuser and the tools to remove the armour they needed to. John handed her over but was frozen to the spot, unable to leave his rabbit. The remaining members of Blue team filtered into the room not a moment later. Their hulking size was adding to the intensity felt within the room. The medical team were unfazed at having such highly trained people watching them carefully, even while they battled biology to save the fastest Spartan. Luckily her pulse naturally ran low and her circulating volume was higher, so they weren’t at an unrecoverable stage yet.

Within half an hour Kelly was stabilized and the techs could come in to finish removing her suit. Blue team slowly rotated to have theirs removed down on S-Deck; rushing back up to stay by her side. It was moments like this that reminded the UNSC that the Spartans were humans and not Titans, that they were as vulnerable as their newest recruits when it came to injuries. Palmer appeared in the med bay just as Kelly was being wheeled away for surgery. John was a crumpled heap having lost the battle with holding his tears back. She stepped up to the tightly knit team and placed a reassuring hand on Linda’s shoulder.

“Somehow the ODST managed to get live ammo into the holo deck. I am sorry for what that’s caused. They are all demoted and have been reassigned from the helljumpers; people that dishonourable don’t deserve to be part of the elite.” She quickly looked around the exhausted faces of the four older people before her; it was as if every tragedy they’d seen was now etched upon their skin. “You’re all on leave until 087 is back up to full capacity. We have Red team, and the remaining Spartans to take your place. I have no doubt that she will pull through. She’s a feisty little rabbit after all.” John’s eyes shot up to Sarah’s face at her words. It was usually only Blue team that used that for Kelly. A little term of endearment left over from training that felt like a whole lifetime ago. She just gave a knowing smile and let them be. After conferring with one of the doctors Sarah left. Blue team were alone once again; silence filled the room and they felt it too thick to break.

It was a few hours later that a nurse wandered over to them. Her face was relaxed and open; but they all felt their hearts clench. The news from the OR had been minute and they were preparing for the worst. She pulled up a seat in front of John and gently touched his shoulder, his reputation not fazing her as this was her turf. “John? I’m Ayla one of the nurses who is caring for Kelly.” Her words caused his gaze to shoot to hers. Her words were present tense and his heart began to flutter. “Kelly is stable but the surgery was difficult. I don’t know what those boneheads were thinking but the bullets tried to rip her to shreds. It had nicked her femoral artery in addition to her abdominal injuries. You’re lucky you got here when you did; if anyone else had been carrying her I think the delay in speed would have meant unhappy news.” She paused letting her words sink in, before any of them could cut in she started speaking again. “You may all see her, if you are calm. I will kick you out if I feel it is too much for her, but you are her family and I know she’ll need you to recover properly. You may stay in the room as long as you like, but leave if we need the space to check on her. Am I understood?” Four acknowledgments and the five of them stood to move towards the large intensive care room Kelly was laying in.

Fred gasped in shock at her tiny frame in the bed. She had wires and infusions everywhere, her observations were on a screen and the readouts were better than the last time he’d seen them. Her heart rate was normal despite her blood pressure still being a little low. She had blood transfusing and many other medications going into the central venous catheter in her neck. He reached out and squeezed John’s arm, all of them frozen in shock at their teammate. As if sensing their presence Kelly reached out and drew another smile, this one in the air at her worried comrades. In a split second John was at her side, hand clasped tightly in his.

“You know how much you scared us Bunny?” his voice held no malice for the usually harsh words. “You’re my first string, you hold me together.” He said while pressing kisses to her knuckles. “Yeah she makes us the A team!” Sam said, still feeling raw with emotion. Linda sank into a seat beside him, eyes watching the door always guarding her family. “You hold this all together, always have. You make Blue team work, the rock it needs.” Her voice cracked as she wiped away a few tears. “The rumours may all be about boss man there, but you’re the reason his reputation is so big. You keep his ass lucky.” Fred added as he stood just behind John. Ayla was sat at the foot of the bed with a massive observation chart on the raised desk before her, along with mountains of paperwork. Fred felt sympathy for the nurse; if there was one thing he hated it was paperwork. He wanted desperately to reach out and touch his sister fear holding him back, worried she’d break if he did so.

John pushed a lock of her blue hair from her face and locked onto her blue eyes. They were slowly returning to the sky blue he’d fallen in love with years ago. His fingertips just brushed her forehead and his gut settled as her skin was no longer cold and clammy but closer to the warmth he knew. She was a raging fire contained in 6’5’’ of blue haired laughter. He let his hand settle on her wrist feeling her pulse strong and calm beneath his fingers calming him further. She was still here. She was still with him, with the team, and would continue being the sun that set their world alight. He wanted to tell her everything, anything, but words weren’t coming to him. He had been so scared it would all be over that he now couldn’t find the words.

“Promised you.” Her scratchy voice rasped out, “promised…not the end game. Not leaving you birdy.” She slipped back into a restful sleep while John realised what she’d meant. She’d heard him as he’d been running to the med bay. She’d remembered his fear, remembered just how fragile he felt, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He’d been given a second chance with her and he’d hold on to it tightly.


End file.
